Times change

Ah, vacation time! Julia and Yani have graciously invited me to spend some time with them on Block Island.

Last year I had been walking through town with Julia and feeling self-conscious I'd been asking her about fashion tips. This year as we walk through town I mention that I brought along everything I'd need for a date in case I were to meet someone this weekend.

Last year I was working on overcoming my shyness by asking passers-by what time it was. This year I'm pretty adept at starting conversations and talking to anyone.

What a difference a year makes!

First Date #9

I guess I just can't get enough. Instead of taking a week off, this morning I met a young lady for coffee at Starbucks and then we had breakfast at a diner. She seems pretty active but a lot of her time seems to be spent up North on her own - hiking in the Winter or cross-country skiing in the Winter. We just left it that maybe we'd get together again sometime.

"Entering a period of consequences..."

"…The era of procrastination, of half-measures, of soothing and baffling expedients, of delays, is coming to a close. In its place we are entering a period of consequences..."

- Winston Churchill, November 1936

It's been such a long time

I've been feeling a little down lately and I heard one of my favorite songs: Boston singing "It's been such a long time". This song always seems to crop up in my life when I'm thinking about life.

It's been such a long time
I think I should be goin', yeah
And time doesn't wait for me, it keeps on rollin'
Sail on, on a distant highway
I've got to keep on chasin' a dream
I've gotta be on my way
Wish there was something I could say.

Well I'm takin' my time, I'm just movin' along
You'll forget about me after I've been gone
And I take what I find, I don't want no more
It's just outside of your front door.

Well I get so lonely when I am without you
But in my mind, deep in my mind, I can't forget about you
Good times, and faces that remind me
I'm tryin' to forget your name and leave it all behind me
You're comin' back to find me.

Thoughts

I've been thinking about my long time girlfriend often. We broke up a couple weeks ago and I wonder how she is doing. I have a desire to contact her, but I don't think that would be beneficial in the long run.

"Happily ever after"

Here I am single again. I go to the grocery store and as I walk in I’m thinking maybe I should take a few weeks off from dating. Then I’m thinking maybe I’ll just wait until the middle of next week when I’m back from vacation. By 10pm I’m surfing dating sites. I had Chinese for dinner and when I take a break to open my fortune I find:

“Take the time to do it right, otherwise you will have to do it over.”

I guess fortune cookies have played a part in much of my life. I think of a fortune I once wrote by hand and stuffed into a fortune cookie. It must have been around the year 1990. Robin and I had gone out for Chinese and I had slipped my faux fortune cookie onto the table unseen for Robin to open. I still have it, framed with a wedding photo. It reads "You will marry a tall white man named greg (6'4") and live happily ever after"

Single again

Earlier today I sent an e-mail to a friend, signed "Single and beginning to enjoy it, Greg"

Dating is damaging?

One of the claims made by #8 is that dating is damaging to people. We continually get attached to people and then they leave. Well, I don’t know I don't think it's damaging. I think I've been learning quite a bit.

Open Person

I met friends Julia and Yani for dinner at a local Tapas bar. I find in conversations I seem to be looser and more open than I used to be. It's odd because I had always considered myself to be an open person. I guess with Robin it felt like we shared an inner private world between us that we didn’t share with others. First Date #8 is unusually forward about saying what she is thinking and I wonder if that's rubbing off on me. Either that or maybe I'm becoming more comfortable with myself and my world.

The Fireball!

Today I told Date #8 I was going to meet a group of friends at a wine tasting event. First she invited herself along, then she uninvited herself. Then later in the evening she began an e-mail onslaught about me dating other women and what a nasty person I was. Um, on our very first dinner date I'd explained the "dozen first dates" idea, and honestly I haven't been on date #9 yet - but I guess the thought of me possibly dating someone else drove her crazy.

Biker Dinner

Last summer I'd ridden the "bike ride across New York State". Tonight I had Thai dinner with friends from that ride. Noreen told Susie, Michael and I all about the rainy, wet ride this summer - a ride the three of us had missed. I'd forgotten how happy, fun and funny these folks were - I need to see them more often!

Late in the conversation Susie inquired a bit hesitantly about how I was doing. Was I dating? I explained the Dozen First Dates idea and then told them about my ups and downs in getting to Date #8. Just telling the stories helped me realize the humor in some of my experiences! :)

Starbucks Cups "The Way I See It #76"

"The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating – in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life." -

Anne Morriss

Ouch!

Today I told my long time girlfriend that I've seen someone else a few times and would like to continue to see them. This doesn't go over well. I guess she expected that the "twelve first dates" would be a phase and I would eventually come back to my senses. Well, that could have happened. But as it goes it looks like we won't be trying to stay in touch at this point.

Moment of peace

After a bike ride I had dinner on the back porch, then I slouched down in the chair and rested my legs up on the table. I experienced being in tune with the world. A moment of peace that just seemed to slightly lift my body up and relax me.

Two brains

Lately I can see both halves of my brain in action - one emotionally driven, one seeing things as they are.

Starbucks Cups "The Way I See It #17"

The world bursts at the seams with people ready to tell you you're not good enough. On occasion, some may be correct. But do not do their work for them. Seek any job; ask anyone out; pursue any goal. Don't take it personally when they say "no" - they may not be smart enough to say "yes".

- Keith Olbermann, Broadcast Journalist

Maybe next time you can be on the top of the list?!

I noted to Alex that I've seen Date #8 several times and I still continue to see my long term girlfriend (who knows that I'm doing the "dozen first dates"). I explain that I was waiting at a stop light the other day thinking "what's best for each of them" when it occurred to me that I should also consider "what's best for me".

Alex laughs and says "You're making progress". Maybe next time you can be at the top of the list!